In the context of the increasingly shrill debate around migration and Europe, this week's the Mail on Sunday included an article attacking the non-profit organisation European Alternatives, of which I am co-president. Aside from crude attempts to discredit me personally, the paper takes issue with the Citizens' Manifesto we have published following consultations with citizens throughout the European continent, entitled "European Democracy, Solidarity and Equality". It contains proposals to protect the rights of migrants and minorities; to promote greater democratisation of the EU; to build a more social dimension to the Union in a context where many people are experiencing unnecessary hardship arising from shortcomings in the integration of the single market, single currency, and Europe's macroeconomic policies, and to act to protect media freedom throughout Europe. The paper absurdly referred to a "Marxist manifesto for a European superstate", demonstrating ignorance of our document, the nature of the EU, and of what Marx said in one headline.

European democracy will only be built by citizens throughout the continent engaging in productive debates about our common future. When that real conversation happens, more people will realise that advancing on many of the things we care most about – from preventing global warming, promoting employment and a decent living standard for everyone, to guaranteeing the fundamental rights of minorities – requires acting on a transnational scale. Our organisation is called European Alternatives precisely because we think that in this part of the world Europe is the most appropriate level to act on these issues, but Europe needs alternative policies from the ones it currently follows. Not everyone will agree with the proposals we make, and that is exactly as it should be. The European elections should be precisely the moment to discuss these alternatives.

The rightwing media are scared of this approach because it breaks out of the politics of cowardice and fear that it would like to keep us all locked into; a politics of cowardice to which many of the leading politicians in the UK are subservient when it comes to migration and Europe (with some notable and praiseworthy exceptions such as Ken Clarke). Instead of addressing the irrational fears of waves of benefit-cheating migrants arriving in the UK by using the extensive empirical data that is available showing this to be false, British politicians are cowed. These trends may be particularly prevalent in the UK at the moment, but ask citizens throughout Europe and many of them will tell you they are growing throughout the continent. Furthermore, national leaders fail to appreciate they are leaving the door open to nationalist attacks each time they take decisions about our common future in private European Council sessions, or pretend that they are "leading" Europe on their own without making courageous public arguments to convince a European public. That is another thing citizens have made proposals to change through our manifesto.

Our organisation was created because we think citizens throughout Europe need to stand up against this politics of cowardice, and need a platform to do this where our tired political parties are failing. We think many people share our sentiment that calling into question the fundamental rights of migrants, Roma and other minorities in the way the populist press across Europe does is shameful and scandalous, and understand that we aren't going to make any progress in a globalising world if we can't get over our national egos; and they are frustrated about the lack of public voices providing an alternative. We exist to amplify the voices of all these citizens who share that frustration.